This exhibition shows modern architecture of leisure, sports, commerce, transport and tourism built in Spain and Portugal between 1925 and 1965. It completes the presentation of work the Iberian DOCOMOMO Foundation has done on social facilities. The exhibition presented the previous year covered civic infrastructure, most of these buildings being the result of functional policies and programmes set up by the state; this new exhibition displays buildings promoted by civil society, with modern forms that were a response to needs and also satisfied aspirations.
In the Iberian Peninsula, economic structures were modernised during the twentieth century, and this was expressed by administrative buildings that adopted modern language as an image of efficiency and professionalism. This was also found in commercial facilities, a reflection of changes in the standard of living and purchasing power of society.
Transportation infrastructure was expanded considerably. They built bus stations, garages, service and filling stations and dealerships to serve the people, but also for tourism which boomed in the 1960s.
Buildings for leisure and sports illustrated social stratification and the gradual consolidation of the middle class. A privileged elite met at clubs dedicated to nautical sports, golf and equestrian sports, while there were also a growing number of facilities for organised leisure — cinemas, football clubs and sports centres.
Iberian DOCOMOMO Register
The Iberian DOCOMOMO Foundation, a body that documents and preserves Modern Movement architecture in Spain and Portugal, has researched and documented one of the main themes of modernity — social facilities. A large group of specialists distributed throughout Spain and Portugal did extensive fieldwork and recorded it. This produced a large inventory covering about 600 works and sites built between 1925 and 1965.
This exhibition displays a selection of facilities dedicated to commerce, leisure, sports, tourism and transportation. This is completed by those used for education, health, public administration and religion. It completes a cycle of thematic work that started with industry and housing, thus revealing the main contexts that modern architecture affected between 1925 and 1965.
This exhibition is complemented by a second exhibition, under the title: “Social Facilities I: Public spaces and new programmes, 1925-1965”
